OUR WRITING GROUP # 4...WRITING PROMPTS...

Thinking about Muriel's recent post, I'll say a bit more about our writing group...we are 8 women connected through the MN Writing Project...with former middle school, high school, special education and administrative backgrounds, yet all of us find value in personal writing - our own and that of others.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we start out by writing to a common prompt. This time the prompt came from Wild Mind, Living the Writer's Life by Natalie Goldberg. But, before giving the prompt, I shared Natalie's suggestion from p. 46 to "make a writing schedule for the week and stick to it." I struggle with finding time to write, but her suggestion helps me find time. She suggests to look at the week ahead and carve out small blocks of time to write. As I look at my week, I can predict which days allow no time for writing and which days will allow me to reflect and take time to write. I no longer worry or berate myself if I only have 15 minutes on two different days. The key is to put time on my calendar and just do it. Sometimes I write about my day or what's on my mind at the moment...other times I look through past pieces I've started and begin adding to previous thoughts. Try scheduling writing time for yourself and let us know if it's helpful.

I do the same with my oil painting, but that's another story!

Barry Lane has a book called WRITING as a Road to Self-Discovery.  This is a great book to prompt reflective writing. Put it by your notebook and pen and pick it up whenever you need a topic or time for self-reflection. Chapters focus on "Remembering, Reframing and Refocusing."

For our group this time, our prompt was, "Write about what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about..." This is a wide open topic and while a few focused on the current political climate, others ranged widely with their concerns. We wrote for 10 minutes and then shared around the group. It was interesting to hear the variety in our concerns.

Being an effective teacher of writing means being a writer yourself. Take time to write about what bothers you, things you love, places you've been or will go to, a favorite relative...
Experience the struggles your students have and share your frustrations and successes with them. Have them help you edit one of your pieces.

Within a short time, you will have created a writing climate in your classroom and a group of thoughtful writers. Please share successful prompts you've used in class and the results!